NAME
Business::Barcode::EAN13 - Perform simple validation of an EAN-13
barcode
SYNOPSIS
use Business::Barcode::EAN13 qw/valid_barcode check_digit issuer_ccode best_barcode/;
my $is_valid = valid_barcode("5023965006028");
my $check_digit = check_digit("502396500602");
my $country_code = issuer_ccode("5023965006028");
my $best_code = best_barcode(\@barcodes, \@prefs);
DESCRIPTION
These subroutines will tell you whether or not an EAN-13 barcode is
self-consistent: i.e. whether or not it checksums correctly. If provided
with the 12 digit stem of a barcode it will also return the correct
check digit.
We can also return the country in which the manufacturer's identifcation
code was registered, and a method for picking a "most preferred" barcode
from a list, given a preferred country list.
FUNCTIONS
check_digit
my $check_digit = check_digit("502396500602"); # 8
Given the first 12 digits of a barcode, this will tell you what the last
digit should be. This will return undef if the barcode stem is not
properly formed.
valid_barcode
my $is_valid = valid_barcode("5023965006028");
Tell whether or not the given barcode is valid. This obviously does not
check if it a real barcode; only if it is of correct length, and has a
valid check-digit.
issuer_ccode
my $country_code = issuer_ccode("5023965006028"); # "uk"
Returns the ISO 2 digit country code (you could use Locale::Country, or
equivalent, to convert to the country name, if required) of the barcode
issuer. (Note: This is not necessarily the same as the country of
manufacture of the goods).
This does not test the validity of the barcode.
best_barcode
my $best_barcode = best_barcode(\@list_of_barcodes, \@optional_prefs);
Given an arrayref of barcodes, this will return the "most preferred"
barcode from the list.
If you don't pass any preferences, this will be the first valid barcode
in the list. With a list of "preferred prefixes", this will return the
best match from your list in order of preference of your prefix. A
prefix can either be a numeric barcode stem, or a 2 letter country code,
which will be expanded into the list of current barcode stems available
to that country.
e.g. if you have a list of 10 barcodes for the same product
internationally, and would prefer the UK barcode if it exists, otherwise
the Irish one, otherwise any valid barcode, you would call:
my $best_barcode = best_barcode(\@barcodes, ["uk", "ie"]);
If there are no valid barcodes in your list this will return the first
barcode which would be valid if it was zero-padded, or null if none meet
this final criterion.
BUGS
When zero-filling the barcodes in "best_barcode" we should re-apply the
preferences again, rather than just taking the first valid barcode.
TODO
Allow other barcode families than EAN-13
AUTHOR
Colm Dougan and Tony Bowden
BUGS and QUERIES
Please direct all correspondence regarding this module to:
bug-Business-Barcode-EAN13@rt.cpan.org
LICENSE
This program may be distributed under the same license as Perl itself.
SEE ALSO
EAN barcode specification: http://www.mecsw.com/specs/ean_13.html